Can’t Add a New Email Account to the Windows Mail App? Try These Fixes

There is no limitation on how many email accounts you can add to an email client. This way, you can access all of your emails from one place, so you can keep track of everything you need to do without having to switch devices.

Most of the time, adding a new email account in the Mail app is pretty straightforward, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Throughout this guide, we’ll take a closer look at why this happens and how to resolve it.

Why Can’t You Add a New Email Account?

If you cannot add a new email account in the Windows Mail app, there can be multiple reasons contributing to the issue. Here are the most common ones that might explain why you are encountering the problem:

• The internet connection you are using is not stable.
• Your Windows is out of date, which is causing several components and applications within the system to malfunction.
• The Mail app itself is out of date. It is not uncommon to run into issues like the one at hand in outdated apps due to incompatibility issues.
• The application or the system is dealing with some kind of corruption error, that is preventing it from performing basic tasks.

Now that we know about the potential causes behind the problem, let’s take a look at the solutions that worked for other affected users. Before proceeding, we highly recommend that you switch to the administrator user account on Windows, as some methods will require administrative access to be executed.

1. Check Your Internet Connection

The first thing that we recommend you do if you are facing issues with the Mail app is to check if you are connected to a stable internet connection.

It is mandatory that you are connected to a strong internet connection in order to perform any action in the Mail app, including adding or removing an account and receiving emails. Consider adding the targeted email account to the Mail app on any other device if you own multiple devices (using a different connection) and check if you still face the same problem. Our guide on fixing network connection issues on Windows has a lot of information you can refer to for finding a fix.

2. Install Any Available Windows Updates

Ideally, you should keep your Windows up-to-date at all times. Outdated systems are an easy target for malware and other security-related problems.

Microsoft frequently releases system and driver updates that offer new features and bug fixes and most of the time, simply updating your system to the latest build can fix several issues.

The steps listed in this method are appropriate for Windows 11 users. If you are a Windows 10 user, then follow the steps for installing the available updates in this guide.

1. Click on the Windows icon on your taskbar and choose Settings from the list of options available. Alternatively, you can press Win + I keys on your keyboard together to launch the Settings app.
2. Choose Windows Update from the left pane.
3. In the right pane, click on the Check for updates button.
4. The system will now scan for available updates and list the ones found. Install all the updates one by one.
5. Once the updates are installed, restart your PC and upon reboot, check if you can now add a new email account in the Mail app.

If the issue persists, proceed with the next method below.

3. Update the Mail App

If your system is up-to-date, then the next thing you should do is ensure that the Mail application is updated as well.

For this, we will be using the Microsoft Store application.

Here is how you can update the Mail app:

1. Launch Microsoft Store and click on the Library icon in the bottom left corner of the window.
2. In the following window, click on the Get updates button.
3. The Store will now list the applications that need to be updated, and automatically begin installing their latest available updates. If the Mail app is outdated, you will see it in the list as well. Wait for the updates to be installed, and then perform a reboot.
4. Upon reboot, launch the Mail app and try adding the targeted email account again.

4. Run the Windows Store Troubleshooter

The Windows Store troubleshooter is another handy tool that you can use to identify and fix issues related to Windows apps.

This tool works like most of the troubleshooting utilities developed by Microsoft. You can access it via the Settings app. If after a scan it finds any problems within the system, it will suggest fixes that you can apply using the troubleshooter as well.

If updating the application does not work, then run the Windows Store troubleshooter to check if a corruption error within the app is causing the issue at hand.

5. Repair or Reset the Mail App

Another way to fix the issues related to the Mail application is by using the built-in repair feature. This feature is designed to scan the app for any inconsistencies, and then fix the issues identified.

In most cases, repairing the application does the job. However, if the issue persists, then you can try resetting the application, which will revert the app to its default state.

We have divided this method into two portions. First, we will try to repair the app. If that does not work, then we will proceed with resetting it.

Follow these steps to proceed:

1. Launch Settings by pressing the Win + I keys together.
2. Choose Apps from the left pane.
3. Navigate to Apps & features.
4. In the following window, locate the Mail and Calendar app and click on the three dots associated with it.
5. Choose Advanced options from the context menu.
6. Head over to the Reset section and click on the Repair button.

Wait for the process to complete and then check if you can successfully add the new email account now. If you still cannot, then follow these steps:

1. In the same window, click on the Reset button.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed.

Keep in mind that by resetting the application, you may lose customized settings and preferences within the app.

Add Multiple Email Accounts Again Successfully

You should be able to successfully resolve the Mail app issue using the methods mentioned above. If you encounter the same problem again, you can switch to another email client until Microsoft releases an official fix for this issue.